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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1924-12-16Dec. 16, 1929-. PLANNING BOARD MEETING. The regular meeting of the Planning Board was held on Tuesday evening, Dec. 16th., at 8 o'clock in the Selectmen's Room, there being present Messrs. Emery, Duffy, Tilton, L.S. and W.D. Brown and Mr. French. RYDER D7VELOP14ENT ALONG VINE BROOK. Mr. Leslie Ryder appears before the Board and asks that some definite action be taken in regard to street lay -out a- long Vine Brook from Mass. Ave. in, and the roadway connecting with Waltham Street which the Town ballasted with stone with- out having taken the property over. He is most anxious that these matters be settled speedily as in their present standing he is put to a hardship in dispoa- ing of his holdings. The Board goes over the surveys and plans with him and a- grees to give early ahtention to the matter. MR. MC INTOSH-FAIRBANKS DEVELOPMENT. Mr. French presents for the consideration of the Board a lay -out of the Fairbank's property as prepared by himself and Mr. Duffy, and which seems to all the members a most log- ical and well considered arrangement. Mr. McIntosh, however, appears before the Board and now formally withdraws his petition for the approval of the devel- opment of the property as previously submitted. He states that on further consideration he has decided it best to undertake a "farm" development and asks now for the ap- Tproval of the present roadway to the Mansion House, increased to 50 feet in width and extended, practically as shown on for- mer lay -outs, to Shade Street. He also agrees to give the land abutting on Shade Street to enable the Town to widen same. As nearly as the Board can make out, the new scheme con- templates small lots on all the surrounding streets, including the new street for which approval is asked, leaving large tracts in the centre, or farms, to which access may be had only through some of the street lots. No provision of any kind is contem- plated looking towards the future development of these areas. While the Board has no objection to the proposed street, it is the feeling of all that this future development should not be left to chance, but should be provided for at this time. ARCHITECTURAL CONSULTING BOARD. The Chairman and t1r. McIntosh having had various confer- ences relative to the suggested scheme of having all future purchasers of the latter s property consult with a Board of Architects, acting for the Planning Board, and to consist at Dec. 16 --2. ' the outset of Messrs. Brown and Greeley, Lir. McIntosh reads to the Board a copy of a tentative supplementary agreement he will try to persuade all purchasers to sign This meets with the approval of ail, and if carried through in the proper way should prove of great benefit to Mr. McIntosh, to the lot ovmers and prospective builders and to the Town. Meeting adjourned at 1130. Willard D. Broom, Secretary. J 9 1 IPLANNING BOARD REPORT FOR 1924 The Planning Board submitted no report one year ago. It was too much occupied in the work of drafting a Zoning By -Law for Lexington and no definite results could be reported. A Zoning Law was finally reported to and approved by the Town at the session of the annual meeting held on March 17, 1924s was later approved, without change, by the Attorney General of the Commonwealth, and thereupon became a By -Law of the Town. The entire subject was so thoroughly explained and so generally considered by the voters, at the time of the adoption of the By - Law, that further comment by this Board or at this time in un- necessary. It is the opinion of the Planning Board, and we believe of all thoughtful citizens, that no act of the Town has done more than this to protect the future of the Town and to promote a livelier sense of civic duty and confidence. The By -Law, as passed, will doubtles be found lacking in complete provisions to meet all conditions as time goes on and unforeseen developments appear. It can be amended where necessary when the need develops. The zoning problems out of the way, the Planning Board addressed itself to numerous other matters, some of its own Initiation and others referred to it by the Selectmen. It must be borne in mind that the Planning Board is with- out authority or power to do or to order any work or reform. It may only recommend; other officials or agencies of the Town must be relied upon to make these recommendations effective. Next to the zoning of the Town, the Planning Board has thought the establishment of building lines to be most important. A general provision to this end was incorporated in the Zoning By -Law which provided that no building in any residential district, should be placed nearer than twenty feet to the exterior line of the street. Such provision is generally effective but needs reinforcement and slight modification for application to certain streets and sections of streets to produce the best results. The Planning Board, has, for many months, been actively at work upon this subject and it is hoped that in the near future, definite petitions with necessary releases may be pre- sented with respect to certain streets for action and acceptance by the Town. Other streets will then be taken up in like manner. -2 - Proposed layouts for development of various tracts of land in Town have been referred to the Planning Board by the Selectmen for such recommendations as the Planning Board reould make. In every such instance, the Board has given careful con- sideration to the plan, has heard the petitioners, and has visited the property. With a single exception, the Selectmen, sitting as the Board of Survey, have, we believe, adopted the recommendations of the Planning Board. Among the properties so visited have been the Bacon property at Massachusetts Avenue and Maple Street, East Lexington; the Griswold property at North Lex- ington; the Tribino property on Utica Street; the Blake -Wadman property on Hancock Street; the Cary Farm property on the State Road and the property of the Lexington Building Trust on Bedford Street. To supplement the Zoning Law,the Planning Board is de- veloping a scheme for an advisory board of architects to advise with those who purchase land and intend to build in Lexington. This board will consist of Messrs. Willard D. Brown and William Roger Greeley. The cordial cooperation of our large developer, Mr. Neil M,cIntosh,has been had in this undertaking and it is hoped that real and substantial results will be had in the shape of houses that are more attractive in themselves and more harmonious as a group. It is too early, as yet,to report definite results. The Planning Board has given much time to many other matters such, for example, as the widening of the Massachusetts Avenue end of V altham Street; the extension of Forest Street to Massachusetts Avenue to furnish a relief to Massachusetts Avenue as well as to develop a considerable tract for residential building; initiating the movement for adding Lexington to the Boston Postal District, obtaining investigation by the Post Office officials and approval by the Postmaster at Boston; bill board regulation and completion of the large scale map of the entire Town. Such a map is indispensible for proper consideration of highway extensions and for the laying out of new highways. It will be necessary, however, for the Town Engineer to add fairly complete topographical detail to the map to make it possible to lay out highways with proper grades and for proper drainage. In the opinion of the Planning Board one of the most ur- gent and important problems confronting the Town at the present time is the laying out of through highways to accommodate the ever increasing motor traffic. This may be done by connecting existing highways or by extending the same and may, in some instances, involve the building, at least the laying down, of entirely new ways; but -3 - it must be done and promptly and, by so doing, a substantial control will be obtained over future land development in the Town. Lexington, Mass. Februarylst, 1925 L Respectfully submitted, LEXINGTON PLANNING BOARD FREDERICK L. EMERY, Chairman J. 0. TILTON, M D. LEROY S. BROWN EDWIN B. WORTHEN WILLARD D. BROWN J. HENRY DUFFY